Lame Micros

[+Indotguy]

I hear quite a bit of talk these days about the so called "Lame Micros". In my opinion, generally speaking, this term is used to describe micro hides which are hid in abundance in realitively uninteresting locations like shopping center parkings lots etc. I admit to being guilty of logging a few of these types of caches and (please forgive me!) of even hiding a couple in my early days as a Geocacher. For what it's worth, it seems to me that in most cases these types of caches get more action than the more traditional caches which require some work to log.

My purpose in starting this thread is to see if anyone else has an opinion on what makes a "Lame Micro" lame and what effect, if any, these sorts of Geohides are having or will have on the future of the sport.

[+SnowLeopard]

I think micros are inevitable as the sport grows and it becomes harder to find new hiding spots or travel great distances to hide a cache (esp in urban areas).

There are lame micro caches, lame regular caches, and even lame virtual caches. It really doesn't matter what type of cache it is.

[+5¢]

A cache is a cache, the way I see it. Any type of cache gets me out of the house and off my butt.

[+SixDogTeam]

A lame micro is a micro hidden in a half acre of rip-rap.

[+Team Flashncache]

In my opinion, a lame micro is one hidden on a light pole in the Wally World parking lot. Or any parking lot, for that matter. I; too, found a few of these when I was just starting out. Then I started thinking, "Why would anyone want me to visit light pole E-6 in front of the Photo Shop?" Of course, maybe the hider worked in that photo shop and just wanted to see people stopping by from time to time. A little sneaky vicarious thrill, I guess. Nothing wrong with that. But the main reason I don't bother with parking lot micros anymore is my caching buddy. She's 6 years old and doesn't care for caches where there aren't little treasures to trade.

But we all play the game our own way, so parking lot micros don't bother me. We just don't look for them.

[+Team Tigger International]

Lame is in the eye of the beholder.... now lets see if we can beat this dead horse some more ...

 

Star

[+Indotguy]

Lame is in the eye of the beholder.... now lets see if we can beat this dead horse some more ...

 

Star

The phrase "nothing new under the sun" would be appropriate for many of this forum's threads. From my perspective this horse still has some life so pound away folks!

[+Runaround]

Just use the ignore option. I've added hundreds of caches to my ignore list since the option was made available. Now I can better use my limited caching time to go on hunts I know I'll enjoy.

[+Renegade Knight]

Everyone who complains about a lame cache didn't like the cache. That's the only universal rule.

 

Lame is as lame does.

[+Pasha]

We prefer "coolness challenged." Have you no empathy?

[+-{LoS}-Xile]

they're not lame micros... They're parkNgrab. But unless I feel very uncomfortable searching for a cache I don't consider it a "lame" cache.

 

as per Webster's

 

Lame

3. Weak and ineffectual; unsatisfactory.

 

Weak maybe, ineffectual? nah. unsatisfactory? I just enjoy the hunt, I personally don't mind caches hidden under lampposts or whatnot...

 

The first time i came across those it took me two days to figure out.

[+mintaka]

Lame is in the eye of the beholder.... now lets see if we can beat this dead horse some more ...

 

Star

The phrase "nothing new under the sun" would be appropriate for many of this forum's threads. From my perspective this horse still has some life so pound away folks!

I thought this was funny......If not a little OT

 

Dakota tribal wisdom says that when you discover you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount. However, in business we often try other strategies with dead horses, including the following:

 

1. Buying a stronger whip.

2. Changing riders.

3. Say things like, "This is the way we have always ridden this horse."

4. Appointing a committee to study the horse.

5. Arranging to visit other sites to see how they ride dead horses.

6. Increasing the standards to ride dead horses.

7. Appointing a tiger(or Tigger) team to revive the dead horse.

8. Creating a training session to increase our riding ability.

9. Comparing the state of dead horses in todays environment.

10. Change the requirements declaring that "This horse is not dead."

11. Hire contractors to ride the dead horse.

12. Harnessing several dead horses together for increased speed.

13. Declaring that "No horse is too dead to beat."

14. Providing additional funding to increase the horse's performance.

15. Do a Cost Analysis study to see if contractors can ride it cheaper.

16. Purchase a product to make dead horses run faster.

17. Declare the horse is "better, faster and cheaper" dead.

18. Form a quality circle to find uses for dead horses.

19. Revisit the performance requirements for horses.

20. Say this horse was procured with cost as an independent variable.

21. Promote the dead horse to a supervisory position.

 

Back OT....

 

I have seen some very well made and hard to find containers attached to light poles.

[+Indotguy]

As expected the pattern of opinions show that "lameosity" is pretty much a subjective matter. How much fun a "parking lot" micro is for me is usually related to how creative the hider was in doing his job.

For example, does the cache seem to have been tossed from a passing car into a bush or was a magnetic container painted to match the color of the light pole it was stuck to? Personally I'm not above finding and logging either kind but the latter is more rewarding.

[+Team GPSaxophone]

12. Harnessing several dead horses together for increased speed.

Edited November 24, 2005 by Team GPSaxophone

[+Mystery Ink]

A cache is a cache, the way I see it.  Any type of cache gets me out of the house and off my butt.

I second that

 

Cruizing the threads and had to post to this one.

We have lots of micros around here, some great because they draw you to an area without having any effect on the environment. The parking lot ones and others in areas that do not require getting too far off the beaten path work well for those people that have a hard time getting around.

[+Torry]

Some of the frustration comes from those who cache with children or non-cachers. The thrill of the find is much greater when there is that reward at the end. This increases interest and participation.

 

Spending 30 minutes combing through pine needles for a buried film can just doesn't cut it for some.

[+NoLemon]

A cache is a cache, the way I see it. Any type of cache gets me out of the house and off my butt.

Agreed.

 

IMO, there is a time and a place for each type of cache. I don't want to do the 10-mile hike in swamp like territory in 90+ degree heat where I have to battle waist high stinging nettles and hoards of black flies and moquitos. I save those kinds of caches for early spring / late autumn. Likewise, I don't want to make that 1/2 mile trek across that open field in flat land country in the middle of January with the wind chill at minus 10 -- save that for a hot summer day when that breeze is appreciated.

 

Parking lot micros, parkNgrabs, etc. are perfect for that midnight cache run, that torrential downpour day when you are out running errands, or that sub-zero, middle of January day when you are on the verge of killing someone because of cabin fever.

[+Team Tigger International]

Some of the frustration comes from those who cache with children or non-cachers. The thrill of the find is much greater when there is that reward at the end. This increases interest and participation.

 

Spending 30 minutes combing through pine needles for a buried film can just doesn't cut it for some.

I have cached several times with children , and we have found a LOT of micro caches with these children .... The thrill is still there for them .. esp if they get to "find it " before the adults do .....

 

Star

[ElmoClarity]

Personally, I don't mind doing a light pole cache every now and then. My style of caching is to do all the caches nearest to home and work outwards and being in an urban area, that means lots of parking lot caches.

 

For me, what makes a micro, or any 1/1 type cache, lame are the ones that the owners don't maintain. It's really a let down to get to a cache only to find the log is so wet the paper is falling apart and to read logs for the past month commenting on the poor condition. I guess the lame-ness is in the condition, not the location.

[+Car54]

For me, a micro is lame if there is nothing particularly clever about it and/or the location is uninteresting. I don't care for needle in the haystack micros. Generally speaking, that kind of micro is easy to hide. I mean, I can go to the middle of a prarie, drop a hollowed out bolt or something, mark down its location and that micro will be hard to find precisely because its like looking for a needle in a haystack. Of course, the location might meet the other definition for a good micro, but lets skip that for now. Thus, I hate micros that are in gravel piles or other such things. It's way too easy to hide, way too hard to find, for way too little reward. In other words, lame. Location can also make a micro lame. Parking lot caches are good for folks after numbers, but by and large, the parking lots are uninteresting and the caches are rarely cleverly hidden. The same can be said about end-of-the-road caches. I have been known to go for both kinds of caches (needle in the haystack and boring location), but it is not near as fun as a cleverly hidden cache or a cache that takes me to a neat location.

 

Anyway, that's my criteria for lameness, but lameness is in the eye of the beholder I suppose. Also, just because it's lame doesn't mean I won't hunt for it if I am in the area for some other reason.

 

joe